The Why and Wherefore
by House Telvanni
Summary: Pigenelle tries her very best at everything she touches. It's not her fault that most of her attempts end in disaster. So, when she's dragged from her home and handed the fate of Ferelden, it's no surprise that things don't always go according to plan. Slightly AU.
1. Chapter One

_I'm a dealer in magic and spells,_

_In blessings and curses_

_And ever-filled purses,_

_In prophecies, witches, and knells_

Pigenelle Surana was not good at a lot of things.

That's not to say that she lacked in trying. In fact, out of all the apprentices that called the tower their home, her unwavering determination stood out a head above the rest. The only problem was that a majority of the time, her energy was a bit misguided. She was the number one culprit of overturned furniture, glyphs left still active in the hallways, and she had recently managed to burn off enough of her hair that it had been easier to chop most of it off than to try to salvage it. Most people, mages and Templars alike, wished that she would just stop trying so hard.

It was very early spring, and Pigenelle was stuck sitting at one of the many writing tables, scribbling down figures and wishing very much that the windows of the tower were allowed to be opened. She could practically hear the fresh breeze whispering to her all the fun things that she could be doing if only she wasn't trapped within the block of stone that she lived in. Not that she could even remember what fresh air felt like. She had been taken to the tower too many years ago, but that didn't stop her from pretending that she could.

_And if they buy five more crates of flasks, that should bring the total to...one hundred and fifty three. Wait, no that can't be right._ Pigen scratched furiously at the parchment rolled out in front of her, trying to blot out her mistake. Scanning over her calculations did no good. She had no idea what she was doing in the first place, so looking for her mistake was as good as trying to pick out an honest Orlesian. Utterly impossible. Or, so she had been told.

With a huff, she pushed herself back in the chair so that it was balanced on the back legs. Rocking back and forth on the precariously balanced seat, she craned her neck to look up at the vaulted ceiling above her. Counting the number of stone tiles that made up the library suddenly seemed a lot more interesting than going back to her math.

She had only reached fifteen when a voice sounded from behind her. "There you are! I thought you were supposed to be working on your spells."

Pigen jumped at the sudden noise. Her chair thumped back down onto all fours. "Don't do that! You know I get jumpy when I'm working." She managed to squeak as she turned face her friend.

"I wasn't aware that staring into space counted as working. Were you trying to will your entropy magic to get better through pure determination alone?" Jowan slid into the chair across from hers with the same smug smile that she found so amusing.

The elf huffed slightly and started to gather her papers together into a more organized stack. "My entropy is just fine."

Jowan made a small noise of acknowledgment as he thought back to the last time she had attempted a disorientation spell. He was still trying to figure out just how she managed to turn it back on herself, but what he did know was that she hadn't been able to walk in a straight line for hours.

"And," she continued, "I was working with Sweeney on my spells, but then he said that something had come up. I even offered to help him with whatever it was, but he didn't seem too excited to have me tag along. So, I'm helping by doing his inventory for him." She waved the piece of parchment in front of Jowan's face just in case he didn't believe her.

The paper was snatched from her hand before she could blink an eye.

"Hmm. You know these are all wrong, right?"

The pout that she wore grew even more pitiful as she tried to transform it into a glare. She looked more like a wounded rabbit than anything remotely like she was going for.

Jowan tossed the paper back onto her desk. "So, since I think you've done enough ruining of other people's finances for one day, how about we go see if there's anything to eat yet. Maybe it will even be edible this time."

_'I did promise that they would be done by tonight...but maybe I'll think better with a full stomach. Of course, why didn't I think of that before? Food helps everything, right?'_

Pigen all but leapt to her feet and was nearly out the door by the time Jowan had even begun to stand. "Come on, all the good stuff will be gone if you don't hurry." she said, bouncing from foot to foot.

Jowan rolled his eyes as Pigen started her jumpy journey towards the stair well. "Yes, I'm sure everyone will just be falling all over each other to get in line for the two day old stew and stale biscuits. It's the most popular thing on the menu, I've heard."

She didn't seem to hear him as she sprinted down the hall, nearly knocking down the Templar walking the other way. She really did mean to say she was sorry, but there's only so much a mind can handle with the promise of food on hand.

* * *

Pigenelle Surana was absolutely perfect.

Alright, so her nose was a little too pointy and her ears were at least twice the size of any of the other elves in the tower, but those only added to her charm. The way she looked as she studied her books was a picture of the devout student. Her laugh was one that could be picked out of any crowd. That was mostly because of the slight squeaky sound that distinguished it from the rest, but the point still stands. She even managed to make those outrageously colored robes look beautiful. Not that he was looking at her, of course. That would be ridiculous.

Yes, Pigenelle was absolutely ethereal. And Cullen was going to have to kill her.

Cullen tried his best to stand still as he waited for the last of the ritual's participants to arrive. It didn't help that his stomach did a somersault every time he remembered just why they were gathered together in the harrowing room, or that his palms had started to sweat so much that he was afraid his gauntlets might slip right off of his hands.

_Alright. It will all be alright. It's just a mage. One more hour and you'll be back in your dorm sleeping this off. And she'll be laying on the floor with a bloody hole in her back._ He groaned as a wave of queasiness washed over him. It wasn't even like the butterflies that were usually trapped in his stomach whenever she was on his mind. It was more like a swarm of blood thirsty dragons decided that this was the best time to practice their dive bombing.

The sound of foot steps jolted him from his thoughts. He watched as another one of his Templar brothers led the mage towards the center of the room where Gregoir and Irving were waiting for her.

Pigenelle had never been more afraid in her life. Being dragged out from her bed by a faceless walking suit of armor was not the way that she wanted to start any day. She stumbled slightly as she turned around to take in the room that she found herself in. No one but the older mages were ever allowed to be in the harrowing chamber and those that could rarely talked about it. She was surprised at how not awful it was. There were none of the blood stained torture devices or mage eating beasts that she had imagined. Although, they could be in hiding, just waiting until she let her guard down. Pigen shuddered a bit at the thought.

"There you are." Irving lay a hand on her shoulder and steered her away from her guard and closer to the Knight Commander. Pigen tried not to look too terrified.

"It's finally time for you to partake in your Harrowing. You will use lyrium to transport your mind to the fade where a demon lays in wait for you. Pigen couldn't hear the rest of what he was saying over the pounding of blood in her ears.

She reeled in her racing thoughts and caught the tail end of her teacher's speech, You've been training for this for years and I have no doubt that you'll do well. Resist the demon that will be hunting you, and you'll be a true mage."

_Was that supposed to make me feel better?_ Pigen blinked hard a few times to banish the feeling that she was going to faint.

"Enough coddling, Irving. The girl is supposed to do this on her own. Maybe you'd like to take her place in the fade as well while you're at it?" said Gregoir.

Irving nodded stiffly at the Templar and then gave his best encouraging smile to his student. Pigen couldn't help but think that he didn't seem to have to same spark of confidence that he held just a moment before. She gulped and raised her eyes to the ceiling in one last plea to the maker to strike her down right then and there.

_Maybe being tranquil wouldn't be so bad. I mean, Owain doesn't seem to mind. Although, I think a mabari could be chewing on his ankle and he would hardly even flinch. Alright, so Owain isn't the best role model._

She was nearly to the basin of lyrium by the time she ruled out going tranquil. The magic poured out from the liquid, soaking into her bones and giving her a new wind of strength.

With a last look to the head enchanter and the swarm of Templars ready to cut her down where she stood, Pigen began to think that she might just be able to do this.

One touch of the blue glowing goo, and the energy that she felt was magnified ten fold, like being struck by a very powerful and very unexpected bolt of lightning. She barely had time to let out one final squeak before her mind was sucked from her body and she hit the floor.

Cullen jumped as the mage fell. A quick, paranoid glance about told him that everyone else were far more interested in preparing for a demon attack than observing his every move. Thank the Maker for small miracles.

As he scurried to his own post next to the unconscious body, he managed to catch a snippet of the conversation that Gregoir and one of the senior Templars were trying very hard to keep unheard.

"She doesn't have a chance in the world does she?"

"Maker, no. But you know that it's too dangerous to have her walking around untested. And besides, it never hurts to hope a bit. She may just manage to surprise us."

The Templar grunted without any commitment to one side or the other and turned back to his task of surveying the scene.

The dragons in Cullen's stomach seemed all decided to have a conniptions fit at that moment. _Perfect. I'm going to have to run her through before our first real conversation. At least I don't have to worry about making a fool out of myself if she's too dead to see it._

Somehow, this did little to calm his nerves.

* * *

The fade was not somewhere that Pigenelle looked forward to being. The warped and swirling colors made it hard to her to focus on one thing for long, the landscape seemed to be constantly changing, and the Black Palace looming in the corner of her eye only added to her uneasiness. Of course, that was before she remembered that there was a demon waiting to ensnare her soul.

Pigen was shaking like a leaf by the time she picked herself up from the ground and took a moment to look around at her surroundings. It was like any other part of the spirit world; deathly still and creepy beyond belief.

_Oh, why can't they test us with something less deadly? Maybe a game of cards, I'm at least decent at that_.

Pigen sighed. There was no use in wishing for things to change and especially not when standing in the middle of a hunting ground.

Her footsteps sounded like thunder bolts in the complete silence as she made her way down the slightly sloping path. The hills surrounding her ensured that she stayed on the set path, although she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Magic crackled at her fingertips as she made her way down the winding path. That was one good thing about the fade, it made casting magic about ten times easier since there was no need to pull the energy from anywhere else. It was all just waiting to be used.

The silence wore on her as the minutes crawled by and she didn't find any sign of life. Even a few spirits throwing spells at her would have been a welcome distraction. Well, not welcomed exactly, but she would at least know that she wasn't alone on the floating hunk of rock.

Just as she was beginning to think that maybe there had been some sort of fantastic mix up and she had been placed in a part of the fade with only nice demons that didn't try to take over her body, she heard a noise. It sounded almost like a squeak, but she knew that couldn't be right because there were no rats in the fade and she hadn't made a noise like that in a good ten minutes.

_It never hurts to look. Maybe it's some sort of good spirit. Like a Peace Spirit or the Spirit of Freshly Baked Cookies. I wouldn't even mind them possessing me, that might be nice._

Pigen picked up her pace and hurried towards the source of the noise. Her gasp was strangled in her throat as she rounded the corner and saw just what was happening.

A group of demons, the kind that was all made of flames that she could never remember what type they were only that they were dangerous, were crowded around a very small something.

"Hey!" Pigen shouted in her short burst of courage that she immediately regretted. The demons swerved their lava like bodies away from what ever it was they were harassing and towards the petrified elf.

She barely had time to think before they were upon her, moving faster than she would have thought possible. The demons circled around her, creating a ring of fire and heat that seemed to close in on her with every passing second. Her brain fought valiantly to think of something that would help her but it was like every single spell she had ever know had been wiped from her mind.

Finally, just as the first demon made their move and their claws reached out to scorch the mage, her instincts kicked in. With a sweep of her arms and some concentrated thoughts, she channeled all of her energy into a solid barrier that she pushed out around her, knocking the demons away. While they were down and dazed, she had enough time to ready her next spells. Pure adrenaline took over her body and lightning spells began shooting out left and right. It didn't take long for the spirits to be reduced to a few piles of ash.

_That...may have been the most amazing thing I will ever do and there was no one here to see it._

Her reveling in her own powers didn't last long. Another squeak sounded from where the demons had been huddled before. Suddenly remembering just why she had made such an awful choice in the first place, she hurried over.

Sitting in the dirt, quivering slightly, was a rather large mouse. Pigen fought the urge to scoop it up and start petting it right then and there and instead settled on kneeling down in front of it to be more on its level.

"Oh, aren't you adorable? What are you doing here? I didn't think that animals entered the fade." she said in the same voice that she usually reserved for talking to small children.

The mouse didn't seem to appreciate it. His fur bristled as he puffed up slightly. "You don't have to speak like that, I'm not an idiot."

Pigen shrieked and fell backwards with a thump. Her mouth hung open and refused to close, leaving her looking a lot like a fish pulled from the water. "You...You're a mouse!" she managed to say.

If mice can sigh, this one did. A bright glow took over the creature for a second before it was replaced by a very not mouse like human. Pigen scurried up from her place on the ground and found that she still had to crane her neck to look him in the face.

He was quite average looking for someone that had just been a small and furry rodent. Brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin, just another person that you could imagine walking past in the halls.

A moment passed where they did nothing but observe the other. Finally, Pigenelle broke the silence by shoving out her hand for him to take and saying, "I'm Pigenelle, a mage from the tower and I'm very glad that you're not trying to kill me."

Mouse's eyes narrowed as he looked the mage up and down. Ignoring the hand he had been offered he said, "You're not going to make it if you do stupid things like that."

Pigen's hand fell limply to her side and her head cocked slightly in confusion. "What? But, I saved you."

"Yes, you did do that, but you also wasted time. Time that I can tell you're going to need desperately."

"What are you talking about? Why do I need time? Don't I get all I need?" She was understanding less and less of what was going on with every second she spent in this place.

"They didn't tell you, did they? Typical Templars." Mouse spat out the title like it was a bad taste in his mouth. "If you take even a second too long in the fade, they will cut you down without a second's hesitation. Why do you think I'm stuck in here?"

Pigen could feel her heart dropping down to rest somewhere in her stomach. "Oh, Maker! How much time do I have left? Do you know when they do it? What if they already killed me and I just couldn't feel it?"

Mouse grabbed the flustered elf by the shoulder to stop her jabbering. "You can't panic now."

_Too late._

"You need to find the demon that lives in this plane of the Fade. If you manage to defeat him, then you'll be able to leave."

She tried to take a breath to calm herself, but the air seemed to get caught in all the panic and fear that was swirling inside of her. "You'll help, wont you? Please, I don't think I can do this on my own."

The man was silent for a moment, as if weighing his options. Finally, he nodded.

Pigen let out the breath that she had been holding. "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much! Come on, I don't think I have much time left. Which way is the demon?"

Looking around the clearing, she saw that there were a multitude of paths that were available for them to take. Mouse, who had turned back into his smaller form, bounded ahead and down the one to the left. Pigenelle had little choice but to follow him.

"Are you sure that you don't want to talk to the Sloth demon? He didn't seem that bad, and turning into a bear sounded kind of useful." Pigen asked her companion as she clambered up the hill.

"What have they been teaching you at the tower? You never deal with demons, they will always turn around and twist it into something that benefits themselves and only themselves. Besides, I get the feeling that you're not the kind of person that would be very good at riddles."

Pigenelle flushed slightly at his comment, but didn't say anything to fight it. While she was good at thinking up out of the box concepts for the most part, word games were well beyond her mental skill set.

While she had been reflecting on her thinking abilities and lack there of, the pair had entered yet another clearing. The only difference between this one and the last was the enormous demon lurking in wait.

"Oh my."

The thing swirled around her with alarming speed. The heat that it gave off was enough that beads of sweat began to grow on her forehead. The unmistakable feeling of absolute horror growing in the pit of her stomach also could have had something to do with that.

"What's this? Another gift for me? She doesn't look like much, more like a little toy just waiting to be broken." The demon said.

Despite the clearly mortal danger that she was in, Pigenelle found herself wondering just how the thing was speaking when it didn't seem to have a mouth.

From her side, she heard Mouse spit out his reply, "No, I'm finished with our arrangement. I don't need you anymore!"

The demon seemed to pause for a moment, before rearing back and rushing once more at Pigenelle. This time, however, it didn't divert its course. She leapt out of its path at the last second, twisting and fighting to stay on her feet.

Sparks of magic flew from Mouse in an assault from behind that took the spirit's attention away from her long enough for her to ready a spell of her own. With one last deep breath of air, she drew in the energy from around her and quickly pushed it to her hands. Flames erupted from her finger tips, wrapping around the demon in a blazing wall.

The demon didn't even flinch.

"Idiot! It's made of fire, why would it be hurt by the very element that gives it form?" Mouse shouted as he paused a moment to use a healing spell on himself.

_Oh. Right._

Trying again, this time focusing on the ground around the demon, Pigen pulled all of her energy together and cast. When she dared to peek out from her tightly clenched eyes, she couldn't help but give a little yelp of happiness. The spirit was frozen in place, mid attack, in the center of a glowing green circle.

A few more blasts of energy from Mouse and some shouts of encouragement from Pigen, and the demon shrunk down until nothing was left except for a single scorch mark.

A giggle bubbled up inside her at the sight of her victory. Well, mostly Mouse's victory, but she helped. Somewhat.

"You did it! You defeated the demon. I knew you could." Mouse said as he smiled down at the elf. "You're going to be a great mage someday, I can feel it."

She studied his face for any sign that he was mocking her. "Well, I couldn't have done it without you. I just wish that there was something that I could do to help you. I mean, it's terrible that you're stuck here like this."

A flicker of a something unfamiliar and slightly disturbing crossed his eye before it was reigned back. "Well, there is something that you could do. You could help me get back"

Pigen tilted her head to the side. "How? Your body isn't there anymore. It's not like they have bodies just laying around to be filled."

"There's always yours." Pigen's face must have given away her shock, because he quickly launched into the next part of his proposition. "Just think about it, we both know that you don't have much going for you. It's a miracle you made it this far. With me helping you, you could be the most powerful mage in the tower. You could be the senior enchanter in no time."

Pigen took a shaky step backwards, careful not to break eye contact with what ever it was that she was speaking to.

"I-I don't think that's a very good idea. I mean, someone might find out and I really don't feel like being taken down by a Templar any time soon. As much as I would like to, I just don't think this could work out." She managed to stammer as she crept away from him.

Mouse's face went completely blank for a few seconds. "Maybe you're not as much of an imbecile as I thought." he said in a voice that was very much not human.

There was a flash of bright light and then Mouse wasn't Mouse anymore. The thing that stood in his place was something out of her worst nightmares with its twisted flesh and dead eyes. It growled out a few words before disappearing from view. "Don't trust everything that you're told, Mage. Learn to listen with more than your ears and you'll do well."

'I just got vaguely helpful life advice from a spirit of the fade. I guess this wasn't as completely a mess as I thought it was.'

Her last thoughts floated around her mind as the world around her began to fade away into nothing.

* * *

I'm trying out a way of writing that's not my usual here, and I'm still on the fence about the results. My main concern is the pacing, so any help with that would be appreciated. In fact, any help at all is appreciated.

The lyrics at the beginning of this chapter is from "The Sorcerer" by Gilbert and Sullivan.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

_Wild with adoration_  
_Mad with fascination_  
_To indulge my lamentation_  
_No occasion do I miss_

Pigenelle woke with the worst crick in her neck that she had ever felt. Even the years of sleeping on the lumpy, stone hard mattresses that the chantry supplied them with hadn't prepared her for spending most of the night laying on real stone.

_Well, I woke up. I suppose that means that I'm not dead._

She pushed herself up onto her elbows and rubbed at her eyes. The light streaming through the stained glass windows above her told her that it was at least noon. Breakfast was long past and she doubted that she would be able to make lunch. Pigen scowled at her rotten luck.

"Ah, you're awake! They brought you back some time this morning, but only Selina was awake to see it. None of us even noticed that you were gone!"

Pigen smiled up at her friend as he wrung his hands at her bedside. Being one of the oldest of the apprentices had forced Jowan to fall into the role of mother hen for some time. She had to admit that he was good at it.

She stood up on wobbly feet and held onto the bed post to steady herself. A glance around the room told her that he was the only one in the room close enough to hear her, so she leaned in and whispered, "I passed my harrowing! Can you believe it? I thought for sure I would fail it in the first five seconds."

Jowan rolled his eyes. "Pigen, everyone in the tower knew what you had done within a minute of them hauling you back here. The Templars wouldn't shut their mouths about how fast it was. I think you might have broken some kind of record."

Confusion flashed over her face. "What? But I took forever. Mouse told me that I was taking too long. Although, I don't think he's the most trustworthy anymore..." As she trailed off, Pigen noticed the strange look in Jowan's eyes.

"Who's Mouse? Is it something to do with the harrowing? Was it a demon?"

"Jowan, you know that we aren't supposed to talk about what happened in the-"

"So you do go to the Fade! I knew it."

Pigen sputtered some sort of string of noises while she kicked her brain into over drive. She could feel her face growing hot as the wheels furiously turned on their quest to supply a decent lie. They came back with nothing.

"Don't be so loud, everyone will know that I told you and then who knows what would happen to me. What if they threw me into the basement to get eaten by the spiders and the rats? Wouldn't you feel awful?"

He pretended to think about it for a moment and she shoved him lightly with a small squeak of anger. "Ah, careful Miss Mighty Mage of the Circle. You might wound a lowly apprentice like me with your awesome power. "Oh, hush up. You'll be joining me in the mage's quarters any day now. Just think about it: our own rooms, waking up at your own time, no curfew. And I heard one of them say that they can even get into the kitchens even after they close!" Pigen could barely contain her joy at that bit of information.

Jowan smiled tightly at his friend. "Yes, I'm sure you're going to be living in the lap of luxury up there. Speaking of which, Irving wanted to see you as soon as you woke, so you should probably be going soon. You know how he is about punctuality."

Wrinkling her nose slightly at the prospect of yet another lecture, Pigenelle began to worm her way through the maze of beds and stacks of books and towards the door. "Alright, I'll see you later then! Come visit me tonight and help me unpack my things."

He motioned for her to hurry up and snorted lightly as she knocked into one of the many desks. As soon as she was out of sight, Jowan sighed and the smile disappeared from his face.

* * *

Cullen didn't think that he had ever been so happy all of his life. Not only had he not been forced to kill the girl of his affections, but she would now be moved into the mage's quarters, where most of his schedules posted him for a good part of the day. More opportunities to see her meant more times to speak with her. And, more times to back away at the last minute and stumble over his words so badly that she was under the impression that he didn't speak the common tongue.

He allowed his mind to wander as he stood at attention next to the library door. Wishful thinking filled his thoughts. Through his mind's eye, he could see her standing in front of him, smiling the same smile that made his stomach tie into knots. He could see himself brushing at the stray locks of hair that fell in front of her eyes and tucking them behind her ears. He could imagine her leaning towards him, so close that he could clearly see her lashes flutter closed. And then, he could see her walking towards him.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by the sight of the very real Pigenelle making her way down the hallway where he was stationed. Her steps were hurried and she was clearly very late for something very important. Even so, her head still bobbed slightly to the tune that she hummed lowly under her breath.

Cullen instantly snapped himself up even taller and tried to widen his shoulders. Some of the other Templars had once told him that women like it when men show off their strength for them. There wasn't much he could do rooted in place, so making himself seem as large as possible seemed to be the next best option.

She didn't look at him.

As soon as she was around the curve, he allowed himself to sag back into his original stance.

_This is ridiculous. She's just another mage, for Maker's sake! Just nod your head at her and say hello and then go on with your business._ Cullen nodded to himself with new conviction.

With every minute that passed, his bravery slipped through his fingers. By the time he heard footsteps coming back his way, he had talked himself back out of saying a single thing. He would stand as still as any statue and she would never even notice he was there.

Her chirping voice was loud enough to drown out the pounding of his heart. Ages ago, Cullen had overheard a few of the apprentices compare Pigen to one of the sparrows that flew around the tower. He was sure that it wasn't meant to be a flattering comparison, but it fit nether the less.

Too caught up in his panic to prepare himself, Cullen stood perfectly still as she and the man that she was escorting walked past. While he didn't recognize that specific man, his armor made it clear that he was one of the Grey Wardens that he had heard so much talk about in the recent months. Even being stuck inside a tower didn't stop recent events from trickling in.

He allowed himself to turn and admire her before she was out of sight. Her newly shortened hair bounced with each step and her robes were snug enough to add more fuel to an already out of control fire.

With a new spark to his day dreaming, he leaned back slightly into the wall and allowed his mind to wander.

"For Maker's sake, Jowan, I said I would meet you there in a minute! You let go of my sleeve right now."

Pigenelle barreled around the curve of the hall at her top walking speed. How she managed to move so fast on her little sticks of legs was a mystery.

She snorted angrily as she got closer to him and for a moment, Cullen was afraid that she had been possessed by a demon after all. He watched her intently as she slowed down and glanced over her shoulder as if expecting her friend to suddenly appear out of thin air.

Feeling the pair of eyes trained on her, Pigen finally turned and looked at Cullen for the first time in a month. His heart stopped.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she said. "I was way too loud back there, I probably bothered you. I'm probably still bothering you, aren't I? Gosh, I'm sorry."

Maker, no, she was getting closer.

Cullen opened his mouth to answer, but it was as if his mouth was full of wool. Even his lungs didn't seem to cooperate as he struggled to get in another gasp of air. Thankfully for him, Pigen could never be that quiet for long.

"Hey, you're that Templar from last night. I knew you looked really familiar. I mean, you all look the same with your armor stuff so I can never tell any of you apart. That's not rude to say is it?"

Cullen managed to shake his head no.

She giggled and he could feel all his blood rush to his cheeks. "Hold on, I bet I can remember your name if I tried. Does it...start with a B? No, C?"

A shaky nod from him.

"Alright. Carroll, Carver, Caden, Cullen, Cadoc-" She was stopped by the slight movement of the otherwise stone still Templar. "Cadoc?"

"N-no, Cullen."

Her grin spread across her face. "I knew it was something like that!"

Cullen attempted a smile that quickly turned into more of a grimace. "You... did very w-well at your harrowing." He immediately mentally kicked himself for saying the first thing that popped into his head. Of course she didn't want to talk about something like that. She had clearly been scared out of her mind.

"That's right, you were there in case I, well you know." Her smile faded a bit before returning full force. "It's a good thing I had no idea what I was doing throughout the whole thing. I think the demon kind of overestimated me and then gave up near the end when it saw how awful I was."

Cullen's brows furrowed. She was being entirely too modest. He knew that they only ever tested the mages that they knew were ready. They used it on those that were potentially dangerous, whether it was because of a lack of skill or turning to the dark arts, but he just knew that couldn't have been it. Pigenelle was too pure to turn to something so desperate and dangerous.

"No, you were perfect! You're the first one I've seen complete it in under two hours." The sentence came out without the stops and stutters that usually plagued him when ever she was near. He kept his eyes trained on the wall behind her; if he didn't see her he could pretend that he was talking to any other mage. Any other mage with sparkling dark eyes and pitch black hair and those wonderfully faded markings on their cheeks that called out for him to stroke the skin they were inscribed on.

While Cullen fought his own personal war, Pigenelle was nearly as nervous, although it was for much different reasons. It was a general rule that the mages avoided their guards. The only times she had ever even spoken to one of them would be when she was getting in trouble or being warned that she was getting very close to the line of trouble. And, none of the others had been so friendly to her.

After a moment of silence, Pigen spoke up. "Well, thank you. I guess I'd better let you get back to your important what ever it is that Templars do all day. I'll see you later?"

It took a second for Cullen to realize that the last part of her statement had been a question for him. "Y-es! Of course, you can always come to me if you want t-to talk or anything at all!"

His eyes snapped closed in embarrassment. He had just cartwheeled over the boundary that separated being polite and being a forward idiot. By the time he opened them again, Pigenelle was glowing with joy and he was caught off guard once again.

"That's great! I have to go see Jowan right now, but I'll find you sometime tomorrow. Maker, you're a lot better than I thought you were." She was bounding away by the time she was finished speaking and Cullen barely caught the last bit. It went straight to his heart and for a moment he was afraid that he was going to die right then and there. Every other compliment he had ever been given was blown out of the water by one vaguely positive after thought.

This really was the best day of his life.

* * *

Pigenelle didn't know what she expected to find in the chantry, but her best friend smiling fondly at one of the sisters was not it.

"Er, Jowan?"

The pair in front of her jumped apart instantly, both with guilty expressions and wide eyes. For a moment, no one spoke. Then Jowan seemed to snap back into his normal pace. "There you are, we've been waiting here forever. Well, this is Lily."

Pigen's face was blank as the information she had been given failed to gain any meaning.

"Remember when I told you I met someone? A girl?" Pigen nodded. "This is her."

Her eyes grew to the size of plates and her mouth hung open slightly. She looked at the couple before her with amazement. "You're joking? Oh, Maker, you're not joking. Do you have any idea what you're doing? I mean, this is serious. Like, even more serious than that time we stole Gregoir's helmet and filled his boots with sand. Jowan?"

It was clear that she was going beyond panicking. Her heart pounded a rapid beat in her chest and she could feel herself getting light headed. Surprises were some of the many things that she could not deal with in the slightest.

"It's going to be alright, just listen to me." Jowan waited until he knew he had the elf's attention before he continued, "We've been together since last fall and everything was going fine. We were careful and no one even suspected anything. Then, the other day, Lily saw something on Gregoir's desk. They're going to make me tranquil, Pigen."

"What?" She screeched before wincing and glancing around to see if anyone had noticed her outburst. "They can't do that to you, you've never done anything wrong. Besides this, but that's not even that big of a deal and that's a really harsh punishment just for that. Are you sure it didn't say someone else? I'm pretty sure there's a Janan or something that lives on the second floor, maybe they meant him."

Lily spoke up for the first time, "I know what I saw. They plan on going through with the ceremony tonight. He's not even being given the choice to go through the harrowing." She reached out and took Jowan's hand in hers and his fears appeared to be soothed slightly.

Pigen ran a hand through her hair, pulling out one of the tight coils and letting it bounce back. "So, what are you going to do? You're not going to let them do it, are you?"

"Of course not! You know what the tranquil are like. No emotions, only cold logic. I wouldn't be able to do magic or even be with Lily anymore. I couldn't do that to her."

Pigen's mouth twisted even more into a frown. "Then what are you going to do? It's not like you can just waltz in there and ask them nicely."

Jowan hesitated for a moment and looked at Lily for support. "I'm going to leave. Today. My phylactery is still in the tower, so all I need to do is destroy that and they won't have any way to track me. Lily and I can be free from this place."

He was willing to leave for a girl he had known for a few months, but had never mentioned it to his friend of ten years. Hurt flashed through Pigen, but she quickly stowed it away. "Alright, what do you want me to do? Distract the Templars?"

Jowan clasped his hands on her shoulders and pulled her closer into a bone crushing hug. "I knew you would help. I told Lily you would." Pushing her back an arms length away, he said, "We know that we can get into the basement, but there is a second door that can only be opened by Gregoir and Irving. We need someway to get that one open."

She nodded. That seemed easy enough.

"You two wait here, I guess. I'll be back in just a second."

* * *

Pigenelle emerged from the store room an hour later. Her robes were covered in an odd mixture of dirt, spider silk and crushed elf root. Her eyes still held the fear of seeing a spider the size of a mabari drop down a foot in front of her and her chest refused to stop heaving.

She all but collapsed in one of the chairs and let he head hang for a few seconds while she caught her breath.

"You're back! Are they all gone? Please say they're gone."

Pigen glanced up at the woman looming over her and thought. It had been kind of hard to make sure she got all of the spiders when she was running for her life. She nodded any way.

"Oh, you're a life saver! Here, I already filled out the form you needed. Thank you so much." The elf shoved the paper into Pigen's hand and was back to work in a few seconds. Pigen scrunched her nose. How people worked that hard at such boring things all the time was a mystery to her.

Her eyes drifted closed for just a second and the need for sleep tugged at her mind. 'This is too much for one day. I swear, it's like the Maker is throwing everything he has at me just for kicks. That jerk.'

With all the strength that she had left, Pigen pushed herself from the chair and hobbled out of the room. She kept her eyes glued to the floor as she made her way to the store room, passing hoards of Templars on the way and tried to stay as calm and not suspicions looking as possible. It was just another task that she was sent on. Get the item from the storeroom, bring it back, help her friend break every single rule in the tower and risk all their lives. Beyond simple.

After dealing with the same emotionless and slightly disturbing Owain as always, she returned to the chantry with the fire rod in hand.

She slapped the item into Jowan's hand like it was a snake just waiting to bite her. "There. I got your stupid magic stick. Now what?"

"Maker, what happened to you? Is that lyrium dust in your hair?"

The look that Pigen sent Lily was enough to stop her from asking anymore questions. The sister cleared her throat and continued, "Well, I can get up into the apository, but we need to move quickly. There shouldn't be many Templars on the first floor right now since most of the mages are in their classes."

Pigen nodded slightly at the pair and motioned for them to start moving. "I guess we'd better start moving then."

The excitement that she had felt at first soon gave way to utter terror as they made their way down the spiral stairs to the first floor. The torches mounted to the wall were just far apart and dim enough that she had to fear for her life with every step as well. She had complained about them enough that both of her companions were beginning to think that it would have been better if she had been left behind after all.

_Good_. Pigen thought bitterly. _Serves them right for dragging me into this. Why even act like I had a choice in the first place? What was I supposed to say? Oh sorry Jowan but I really don't feel like helping you avoid being turned into an unfeeling husk. Better luck next time._

The sight of the bright and open main hall of the first floor was a welcome one. They were so close, Pigen could practically taste the diner that she was going to get. After getting the phylactery, of course. And after distracting the Templars. And the interrogation that she was sure she would receive as Jowan's best friend. Yes, after that, there would be plenty of time to rest.

The trio took extra precaution as they made their way towards that set of stairs that lead down to the basement. They had to act natural and at the same time be on the lookout for any sign of the walking suits of armor that roamed the halls. They looked more like a group of frightened mice scampering about than two dangerous mages and a priestess.

The heavy, wooden door was pushed open silently and closed behind them as they slipped inside the hall. It wasn't much different than Pigen had imagined it; dingy, dark and dusty. The stone was the same that she was used to seeing every moment of the day, but the lack of light made it seem colder than usual, and more uninviting.

She was too caught up in her own thoughts to notice as Lily did her part to unlock the door. It was only when Jowan jabbed her in the side with his elbow that she realized that they were waiting for her to cast her spell to unlock it completely. A pull of magic and a spark of lightning and the door swung open easily.

'This is going better than I thought it would' she thought just as Jowan began to use the rod of fire on the second door.

Nothing.

"Er, Jowan? I don't want to sound silly, but wasn't something supposed to happen?"

Her friend rounded on her with panic and anger in his eyes. "Why isn't it working? Are you sure you got one that works?"

Pigen's heart fell for a moment. They were so close to their goal, it seemed ridiculous to stop there. "What if I tried to melt it with a fire spell? I'm not that good, but it might work well enough." She offered with a small smile and a bit of hope.

When the other two seemed to be too preoccupied with their own pity parties to respond, Pigen flexed her fingers and once again called on the reserve of magic from the fade.

Nothing.

"What's the matter Pigen? Performance anxiety?" Jowan asked with that stupid sly smile that she had begun to miss. He wasn't nearly as much fun around his girl.

"It's like something is blocking me from entering the veil. You try, maybe it will work for you."

Jowan stepped forward and, with as much flourish as he could manage, readied himself to cast his own spell on the door. Pigen let out a little giggle as nothing happened, earning her a glare from Lily.

"What are we going to do now?" Lily said, her voice rising until she rivaled even Pigen. "We can't go back without the phylactery, they're doing the ritual tonight."

The three were quiet for a moment. The couple only had eyes for each other, gazing pitifully at the other while they thought about the despairing situation they found themselves in. This was clearly the end. Pigen looked around the hall for any clues.

"What about that door there?"

Jowan and Lily spun to look over to where she had pointed. There at the end, about twenty feet away was yet another door.

"Oh, well yes. I guess we could try that."

Pigenelle was so done with the tower.

Not only was the basement about ten times larger than it needed to be, but it was also home to chilling jail cells, guardians that seemed to pop out of no where and, of course, the soul of a Tevinter woman trapped in a stone statue. By that point, they could have stumbled upon Andraste herself and Pigen wouldn't have been the least surprised.

Her hand flexed around the shaft of her mage's staff, ready for any more enemies that might pop out from the corners or from under the floor. She could feel the hum of strong magic as they entered the last chamber. The rows and rows of glass glittered in the low light. She wondered just how many there were for a fleeting moment before Jowan rushed past her, nearly knocking her into one of the many shelves.

"There it is! That's mine!" He held a small vial, filled to the brim with the blood that had been taken when he first arrived. "Such a small thing to hold so much power, isn't it?"

Pigen winced at the sound it made as it shattered on the floor. The blood pooled out and sunk into the cracks in the stone. She let out the breath that she had been holding. It was done and they were almost in the clear.

Her mind drifted away as they made their way out of the repository and up the stairs towards the main hall. Now all that was left was for her to feign ill in front of the guards well enough that they left their post for long enough that the couple could slip out. Then food and rest. A smile grew on her lips at the thought.

"Oh. This isn't what it looks like?"

Pigenelle had never seen Gregoir as angry as he was in that moment. His face was tomato red and she swore that she could see steam rising from his head. "You were right about the blood mage, Irving, but I expected better from the elf and the sister." He spat the words like they were a bad taste in his mouth.

If Gregoir was pure rage, then Irving was the picture of disappointment. "You could have told me about this, you know. And yet you did not."

Pigenelle's mouth hung open limply. She felt like she had just kicked a puppy in front of her own grandfather. And then spit on it for good measure. Still, she had to keep her ground, despite the guilt that was growing in the pit of her stomach. "We were only trying to help Jowan. You're going to make him into a tranquil and he hasn't even done anything wrong. Can't you see that you left him no choice?"

"He had plenty of options left and none of them were to turn to such a despicable form of magic. I can't believe that you would stand up for him. And you," Gregoir rounded on the chantry girl who was cowering behind Jowan, shaking like a leaf, "How could you forsake your vows so frivolously? And for a mage of all things."

The Templars that filled the hall began to move in on the three, one of them grabbing Pigen by the shoulder and pulling her backwards until they were able to secure her hands. She yelped as she stumbled over her feet and at the pain on the armored hands digging into her flesh. The Templar behind her let go right away, before returning with a more gentle grasp and a whispered apology. For a second, Pigenelle thought that the voice behind her sounded familiar, but she brushed it out of her mind.

Jowan's hands were poised in front of him, ready to fire off a spell at a moment's notice. Pigen could see him shaking.

"Step back! You're not getting near her!" Jowan's fingers twitched as the veil around him thinned, pulling in the energy and storing it. Every Templar in the room was instantly on high alert and ready to smite at a moment's notice.

"You have no where to run, mage. Give up now and we may be lenient on the girl." Gregoir nodded his head slightly to signal the remaining guards to move and detain him.

Jowan's eyes flashed over with something that Pigen didn't recognize and his hand slipped into his robe. With a flash of silver and a cry from him, the room was suddenly awash with crimson.

She found herself being thrown backwards, landing half on top of the Templar holding her captive. She flinched and bit into her lip as the sharp, hard armor dug into her back.

Nothing made sense. The air was filled with red and bodies and a dark energy that made Pigen cringe as it washed over her. Then the quiet set in.

She could feel herself being propped up, a gauntleted hand pressed against her back as she struggled to hold herself straight. Her eyes rolled back to look at the man helping her, but was only rewarded with the familiar sight of a Templar helmet staring back.

As soon as the room stopped spinning quite so much, Pigen was on her feet and making her way past the strewn about Templars towards the first enchanter. She helped his to his feet as well as she could while drained of all her strength and shaking like a leaf.

The smile that Irving gave her was the same tired and worn one that she was used to seeing after a long day of attempting to teach her something. She instantly found herself smiling back and for a moment she could think that everything was going to be alright.

And then she was yelping in pain as she was yanked backwards by the hard hand grasping the base of her neck.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Gregoir was so close to her that his booming voice sounded like thunder. "Not only have you let a blood mage escape, but you've made sure that there is no way to track him. How many people are going to be killed because of your selfish actions? Ten? Twenty?"

Pigenelle wilted and whispered, "I didn't know." It was a pitiful excuse, but it was the only one she had.

A look of defeat crossed his face for a moment before the stone wall of duty came crashing down yet again and he was barking orders straight into her ear. "Get the healers down here right now! Gather the wounded and place them over near that door! And for Maker's sake, someone take that damned chantry sister and put her in one of the cells. We'll deal with her later."

His iron grip slacked for just enough time for Pigen to begin wiggling her way away. She had gotten about two inches towards freedom when she was yanked back yet again.

"And you! Don't think for a second that you're getting away with this. Aeonar will be the last thing on your mind by the time we're through with you."

If possible, Pigenelle's stomach sunk even lower. Her head hung down and the tears finally welled over, spilling down her cheeks and trickling from her chin. She sniffled to show that she had heard what he said.

Another voice that Pigen recognized spoke. "Gregoir, I might have a solution for the young mage." She tilted her head up slightly to see the Grey Warden that she met earlier in the day standing a few paces behind the knight commander.

"I'm not letting you whisk her away for your king's pretend war, Duncan. She is a criminal and she will stay within these walls and punished as I see fit."

Duncan shook his head slowly. "We need mages. Not only for the army, but they are an integral part of the wardens too." He turned to face Irving, "This is the mage that you were telling me about earlier, isn't it. She shows much promise if I remember correctly."

All of the eyes in the room were upon the first enchanter as he mulled it over. On the one hand, he never wanted to see one of his students turned over to the Templars for what ever punishment they thought fit. On the other hand, she was an idiot. The two canceled each other out.

"Yes, this is her." He lied.

Pigen swayed on her feet as all the blood rushed from her head. Blinking away the tears, she looked up at the enchanter. "What?"

The others ignored her as Gregoir roared with anger. "You can't do this. She is a mage held under chantry law. You can't take her from this tower with out my permission, and I say there is no way in the fade that she is taking one step outside these walls!"

Duncan seemed unfazed by the impressive show in front of him. "Then she is conscripted." He turned to Pigenelle and said, "You have your staff with you? Good. We'll be leaving in just a moment."

Her mouth hung open. "Wait, we're leaving? As in you and me? As in I'm leaving the tower?"

Irving gave her shoulder a familiar squeeze. It seemed like it was too much for the poor thing to take in. "Yes, you will be taken to join the Grey Wardens with Duncan. You will aid them in their war against the darkspawn." He spoke slowly just in case she had trouble with the words.

"But, I can't...I can't leave! What about my friends? What about my plants? I don't even know what a darkspawn looks like." She whined.

"It's a bit late for that. You've been conscripted; you have no choice in the matter any more. Not even the chantry law can take that away."

Pigen's head jerked back and forth between the men in front of her. Irving stared at her with his sad eyes, Duncan seemed as stoic as always. Gregoir looked like he was seconds away from turning around and slaughtering her right then and there. _He would probably say that his hand slipped or I walked into his sword._

At that moment, anywhere seemed like a better place to be than near the fuming Templar. She nodded slightly and sniffed her running nose. "I guess I'll go then."

Duncan smiled slightly and clapped Gregoir on the back, much to the displeasure of the commander. "Excellent. We will leave for Ostagar right away. We have a long journey ahead of us. Take a moment to get yourself together and meet me by the door."

Pigen looked around the room one last time. The stained glass windows above her didn't seem so bad now that she knew she might never see them again.

"I'll miss you." She muttered as she stared down at the ground in front of Irving.

She could hear the smile in his voice as he said, "The circle will always be here, Pigenelle. Maybe you can return someday and tell us all about how you saved the world."

Her throat clenched up at his words and she found herself fighting back the newest barrage of tears. The words that she should have said were lost and all she could do was nod and turn away.

The tears flowed freely as she walked towards the great doors and she quickly mopped them up with her sleeve. A few small sobs managed to escape, much to her embarrassment. She was a Grey Warden now, and she was pretty sure they weren't supposed to cry.

"Um, P-Pigenelle?"

She turned her blotchy and tear stained face towards the Templar that had spoken. He looked like any other of the order.

Seeing that he had her attention, he continued, "Please be careful out there."

The conviction and feeling behind that statement caught her off guard. She stared wide eyed up at the helmeted face of the speaker for a moment before a smile broke out. "Thank you."

When he didn't say anything more, Pigen turned back towards the exit and the Warden waiting for her there with a new spring to her step.

_Maybe everything is going to be alright. I mean, what could possibly be out there that's worse than in here?_

* * *

_Why is the mage origin so long? The others are like a half hour tops. 'Whoops, your parents are dead, there's Duncan. Now go get 'em.' Sighs deeply. Lyrics are once again from 'The Sorcerer'._

_Also, is there some sort of secret to getting your editing to stay when you upload it? I'm getting real sick of it getting rid of everything I do every time I save._


	3. Chapter Three

_Stern conviction's o'er me stealing, _  
_That the mystic lady's dealing _  
_In oracular revealing._

Duncan was sure that he had never seen anyone as excited as Pigenelle was as they walked across the stone bridge towards the camps of Ostagar. It had been one thing when she shrieked in delight at the prospect going through a small village or when she insisted on waving to every farmer, traveler and highway man that they passed. But it was starting to get a bit ridiculous.

Each and every field they passed had been picked clean of flowers and a souvenir stone was plucked from every stream. Her pack was over flowing with useless bits and pieces that were to serve as mementos.

The unending stream of questions had almost been enough to convince him to somehow lose her somewhere along the way. The will power that it took to hold back on that urge was incredible.

He had never been so happy in his life to see the flags of war hanging in the distance.

"But why don't they just go into the deep roads before the blights and kill the archdemons then? Wouldn't that save everyone a lot of time? What do the archdemons look like, anyway? How do you tell it apart from the other darkspawn?"

The Maker saw it fit to spare her from yet another withering look from her traveling companion with the arrival of the royal procession.

Pigenelle's mouth hung open at the sight of the regal, golden armored man that stood in front of her. The stories that she had read back in the tower came to mind and she began to think just how glad she was that she had insisted on changing into a clean robe before they arrived. 'I could have met the king with that ugly green stain all down my front. Thank you, Maker. I knew you loved me.'

"And this must be the newest recruit for the Grey Wardens! Hail, mage. It's always good to have a bit of magic around." The king smiled down with a kind look at the elf.

Pigen froze. She wasn't prepared for this. "E-er, right. Very useful that magic. And I know plenty of it, too. Yup, loads of spells just waiting to be cast."

Pigen was about three seconds from walking to the edge of the bridge and tossing herself off of it, when the king began to laugh.

"You circle mages are quite the interesting lot, aren't you? I guess it takes a while to get used to all the fresh air."

Pigen nodded furiously at the man and let out a small sigh when he turned his attention to the senior warden. Pigen took a moment while the two discussed things that sounded very confusing and very boring to look around the ruins. She had learned all about the Tevinter Imperium back at the tower, of course, but the illustrations in the text books were nothing compared to the real things. And while she enjoyed being out in the forest and traveling, the stone walls offered her some of the comfort that she found at home.

"Well, I suppose I should go see what it is that Loghain wants to bore me with today. I swear, all that man thinks about is war. Good day, Duncan. And good luck, mage." The king was gone back across the bridge along with his procession of guards before Pigen could articulate a response.

Duncan looked the young elf up and down as she stared after the King with a look of awe mixed with mortification. "You should go on ahead and put your things near the sleeping quarters. I will go and prepare things for the ceremony. When you're ready, go and find Alistair. He's the newest recruit I've been telling you about."

He had already told her more than she needed to know about the joining ritual along their travels. Most of her questions about it had gone unanswered, although that didn't stop her from asking more.

Pigen hesitated for a moment, adjusting the straps on her pack and looking around nervously. She could hear the clamor of large groups of people up ahead in the camp and for the first time, wasn't sure if she wanted to join them.

Seeing her waver, Duncan added, "I'm sure you could find someone making lunch if you hurry. It's only a little past noon."

Pigen was scampering away across the stone bridge in seconds.

* * *

One can only live off of berries and bread and what ever it was that Duncan caught in the forest for so long.

Pigen sighed happily at the feeling of a full stomach for the first time in weeks. The other wardens had been eager enough to share their food with the girl and had even given her some extras to carry around with her.

She had even managed to meet with the two other recruits that were going to take part in the joining with her later that night. The men had been nice enough to give her directions towards the important parts of the camp and seemed to know even less about what was going on than her.

It was the middle of the afternoon by the time she got around to looking for the Templar that was supposed to be helping her. She made her way up the stone ramp that led to the fort part of the ruin, gaping at her surroundings with every step. She hadn't been around so many people since she was a child in the alienage, and even then the volume had been kept at least half of that of the camp.

"I wasn't trying to imply that- Look, whatever you think I meant by that, I can safely say that it's not what you-"

"I know exactly what you're trying to say, Warden. You can go back and tell the Reverend Mother that we will meet with her when we are done our duties."

"I'm glad you're so understanding."

The mage that came rounding the corner at top speed didn't give Pigen a second glance as he nearly toppled her over. Not even when she stuck out her tongue at his retreating form.

She peeked around the corner to see the man that she was supposed to be meeting with and was pleasantly suprised. Her experiences with the wardens so far had been dominated by either middle aged men that were far too stoic for their own good or slightly shady. This new one was a horse of a completely different color.

"You should make sure to check your bed roll before you go to sleep tonight. Mages like to set all sorts of traps there when you make them angry." She said as she walked closer to the human.

He looked startled for a moment, before a joking smile formed. "Let me guess. Paralyzation glyphs, ice? Maybe a repelling spell right when you get comfortable?"

"More like a combination of all three."

The warden winced, "Ouch. That's one of the things that I don't like about mages, they seem like they're entirely too good getting even. Always waiting for the perfect opportunity to make you look like an idiot. Although, that could probably be avoided if I didn't offend every single one that I come across."

Pigen faltered for a moment. Maybe pointing out her bad side right away hadn't been the best idea in the world.

Not noticing her discomfort, the man continued, "Well ,I'm sure you didn't come here to listen to me whine about losing arguments to mages, can I help you with something?"

"Er, yes. Duncan told me to speak to you. You are Alistair, aren't you?"

"That would be me. Are you from the chantry as well? Because I really don't have time to go on another holy quest to pester magic users. Wait, you're the new recruit that he was telling me about, aren't you? Shows how well I listen." He held out a hand to her, which she gingerly shook.

"My name is Pigenelle Surana. It's nice to meet you, Ser Alistair." She said.

"So polite, too. And here I am making a fool out of myself every chance I get. It's a wonder they let me out in public." He ran a hand over his eyes. "You're the one from Highever?"

"Oh, no. I'm from the tower." Pigen chirped.

Alistair was silent for a moment while that sunk in. Panic set over his face while Pigen stared up at him cluelessly. "Maker. I didn't mean any of that stuff I said about mages, it was just a joke. Please don't hex me."

She looked the man up and down for a moment. If she could scare a member of the world saving, darkspawn fighting army in just a few seconds, what would she do around normal people? "It's alright. Besides, I don't think I could hex you if I tried. Give you a little shock maybe, but nothing serious."

That didn't ease his worries as well as she had hoped, but at least he had put his arms down from their shielding pose. He cleared his throat and gestured towards the ramp that she had come up just a minute before, "I suppose we should go see what Duncan wants now that I'm done putting my foot in my mouth."

Pigen giggled at him and motioned for him to lead the way. "You probably know where you're going in this place a whole lot better than me."

Alistair hesitated for a moment before going ahead and started walking in what he hoped was the right direction.

To her disappointment, he only jumped about a foot into the air when she sent the small zap of magic towards the back of his neck. Although, the little yelp of surprise that he let out was well worth it.

"Yes, yes, that was very funny. Don't mess with the elf has been duly noted."

* * *

"Yeah, but what I don't get is why they sent us after these treaties. They must be pretty damn important, so why would they trust us with getting them? How do they know that we wont just run off with them?"

"Are you planning on running off with them, Ser Jory?"

"Well, no. But-"

"There's your answer then."

While the others seemed content to chatter away with one another, Pigenelle was more preoccupied with the thought that she was going to die. When they had told her that they would be going into the wilds to collect some magic blood and some papers, she had been alright with it. How bad could it be?

Apparently, it could be very bad.

She shrieked as yet another Hurlock came bolting from the bushes, as ax the size of her head aimed right at her face. It was knocked back by her spell, but that only lasted for a few second. Just enough time for her to get tangled in the hem of her robe and tumble to the ground.

The others came to her rescue and the monster was quickly hacked away. The splatter of blood joined the countless other stains on her robe. 'Such a shame, too. Blood is so hard to get out.'

Magic was getting harder and harder to cast with every battle and she knew that she would reach her limit soon unless they had a rest or they managed to stumble across a few lyrium potions. She shook her head at the ridiculous thought. Where would they find potions out in the middle of nowhere? It's not like Darkspawn just carried poltices around with them.

"Those robes of yours aren't really made for fighting, are they? Bit too long and flimsy if you ask me."

Pigenelle turned to face the speaker and found Ser Daveth looking down at her with amusement. She pulled herself from the ground, huffed slightly and lifted the skirt to make it easier to walk. "They work just fine. Unless you see anything around here that I could wear instead?"

She raised an eyebrow at the man as he turned around and took in the area. 'Honestly, does he think people just leave their things laying around in the woods for it to get stolen and-'

"What's that over there?

She followed his finger to where he was pointing and squinted. Sure enough, nestled between a few boulders and a cliff was a small camp site.

"Looks like one of the chasind camps." Ser Jory said as the four of them made their way over to the clearing.

Pigen was instantly on edge. She had heard enough about the wild men of the forest to know that she didn't want to meet any of them any time soon.

Alistair noticed her tense up and said, "Don't worry. They all moved from this parts of the woods as soon as the darkspawn moved in. The only thing we have to worry about are them, the wolves and the few spirits."

Daveth smirked and added, "Don't forget the bears. They're savage around these parts."

Her eyes grew to twice their normal size. "You're joking, right? There aren't any bears in here. Right?" She turned to Alistair who was trying his best to keep a serious face.

"Tons. Just waiting to snatch up little elves and drag them back to their caves."

She pulled her staff from her back and held it tight to her chest.

The four weren't at all surprised when a few darkspawn jumped down from the ridge above as soon as they entered the camp site. Pigen did her best to not get in the way and even managed to cast a glyph on one of them before the battle was done.

The sacks of food that had been left behind were quickly ransacked and what was still edible stored away. Not knowing what to do, Pigen took a seat on the log next to the cold fire pit.

She watched the men work for a moment. The two recruits chatted away about one thing or the other while Alistair was busy trying to force the lock on one of the chests open. Her attention soon fell on trying to rub the dirt and blood from the ring she wore.

A snap of a twig shook her from her task and the ring fell as she leaped to her feet. The few curses that she learned in the tower leaked through before she could stop herself, much to the amusement of her companions.

She lowered herself to the ground, still muttering under her breath, and began to feel around in the grass. A shimmer of silver caught her eye. Inside a little hollow space carved out of the log she had just been sitting on was a large bundle of cloth. She could see the blade of a dagger poking out from the bag.

"I found something!" She called over her shoulder as she dragged the heavy sack out from its hiding place.

"I don't see how it could be any better than those fantastic wooden plates I just pulled from that chest." Alistair said as he leaved over her shoulder to get a better look.

A mace that she could barely lift was passed on to Jory, a couple of silver pieces were pocketed by Daveth and the light chain mail was shoved into one of the packs to be sold later. Pigen was feeling extremely proud of herself by the time she reached the bottom of the bag.

She could feel the magic before she even laid a hand on it. The enchantment wasn't very strong, but enough for her to know right away what it was.

"Look at this! I don't know how you did it, but you were right, there's a robe here." She said with a grin. Running a hand over the stitches, she noted that it had been patched together from many different types of animals. Despite her aversion to wearing anything that had at one time been a fluffy creature, she stuffed the robe under her arm and called to the others that she would be back in just a second. She disappeared into the bushes before they could object.

"What is she doing? Are you sure we shouldn't go after her?" Jory asked for the third time as he poked mindlessly at the empty fire pit.

"Do you really want to get caught peeking on a mage?" Said Daveth. "You might get a good look right before she turned your head into a pumpkin."

The bushes began rustling around them and within a second all three men were armed and ready. The sound of stumbling and mumbling quickly told them that it was nothing to worry about.

Alistair fastened his pack and swung it onto his back, wincing slightly at the added weight of the chaisend treasure. "Finally. We were starting to think that you decided to run off and become some sort of hermit. I think it would suit you." He turned to take in her reaction to his goading and froze in place instead.

He really did try not to laugh. Honestly. But, before he could stop himself a snort was escaping and the laughter wasn't far behind. The other two didn't have the decency to hide it.

"What in the fade are you wearing? You look like you've just crawled out of a cave!"

And she really did. The robe that she had found was clearly made for someone about a half foot taller and with a few less inches in the chest, leaving her swimming in the outfit in some areas and bursting out in others. The bear fur shoulder cover kept sliding to the left and her stockings just refused to stay up. But, at least she could move.

Alistair was staring cross eyed down at the head of the twisted wood staff that had been shoved in his face.

"I don't want to hear it." She tried her best to look intimidating, but the dark coloring in her cheeks gave ger right away. "Not one word."

The warden nodded furiously and sighed as the stick was removed from his view. "Right. I think we should move on. Those treaties can't be too far from here and staying out in the woods over night doesn't really sound like my idea of fun."

Satisfied with his answer, Pigen began to gather her own things together.

"Hey, Pigenelle! Can you bend down just a little bit more? That skirt is still getting in the way."

The mobility of her new outfit was proved right then as she flew over and stomped down on Daveth's foot with the speed of lightning.

* * *

If Pigenelle never saw the Kocari Wilds ever again in her life, it would be too soon.

She was tired, hungry, thirsty, and her feet ached like nothing she had ever felt before. Her requests for a piggy back ride had been shot down by all three of her companions, leaving her feeling sullen as well. The others must have been just as done as she was, because the chatter had died away soon after Pigen managed to summon a demon from a pile of rocks.

"Do you think that's it over there?"

"How would I know? Every one of these damn ruins look exactly the same. We could be wandering around these woods for ages before we find the outpost."

"What if we just crumpled a few pieces of parchment up and turned them in instead? Just throw a few big words on there, rub in some dirt and it's practically the same thing."

"Shut up, both of you. I think this one is it." Alistair took the lead and began poking around the stone ruins.

'That's what you said about the last three.' Pigen looked around the open area with disinterest. Surely they should have found the treaties by then. She kicked one of the piles of rubble some of the smaller bits of rock fell, revealing the dark bronze of metal.

Pigen squealed a little and waved for the others to join her. "I found it! Or, at least I think I found it. If this isn't it I'm going back to camp and telling Duncan that he can go find his stupid papers himself."

The chest was pulled from under the stones and the dust was brushed off. "That's the seal of the Grey Wardens," said Alistair as he pointed to the worn mark that looked vaguely like a griffin, but more like a deformed pony. "This has to be it."

"My, my, scavaging for scraps now, are we?" Came a voice from above them.

Pigen thought she sprained her neck from looking up so fast.

"I've been following you for some time now, but I never thought that this could be the great object you were seeking. Surely there are greater treasures in the forest than empty chests." The woman smirked down at the group and crossed her arms. Her golden eyes flickered from each member, until they settled on Pigen and stayed.

"Don't talk to her! She must be one of the witches of the wild. I've heard stories about them that would give you nightmares for a week." Jory hissed under his breath.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Do you expect me to swoop down there and drag you off for my supper? Trust me, if I was looking for a meal, you would be the last one on my list."

"We're looking for the treaties that were kept in this chest. If you've taken them, then it would be in your best interest to hand them over right now." If the situation had been any different, Pigen might have made a comment about Alistar's shaky authoritative voice, but seeing that there was danger about twenty feet away from them, she held her tongue.

The woman ignored his commands and turned her attention back on Pigen. "You, you're woman, elvish and it seems a mage to top it off. Surely you have more sense than all these fools combined. Tell me your name and I may help you find what you seek."

"Don't tell her anything! She probably needs your name for some kind of spell she's working." Whispered Davoth just loud enough that everyone could hear.

She took a deep breath and prayed that her voice wouldn't shake as much as she feared it would. "My name is Pigenelle Surana and I am a former circle mage and Grey Warden recruit."

The feral smile that the witch gave was enough to chill blood. "It's so lovely to hear such manners even in the Wilds." She paused for a moment to think before she continued, "You may call me Morrigan and if you want to find your precious treaties, I suggest you keep up. The forest can be a dangerous place if you don't know where you're going. Although, you all know that already."

Morrigan was walking through the trees with ease and without a look behind at the group she was leaving behind.

Pigen hesitated only a moment to glance up at the setting sun before hurrying after the witch, much to the dismay of her companions. Getting killed by the strange woman would be better than eaten by wolves any day.

* * *

It didn't take a genius to see that Morrigan's mother was not all there. There was something about her that was more unsettling than the normal 'I've been living in the woods by myself for the past fifty years'. Pigen shuddered slightly as another wave of magic rolled off of the old woman, leaving her on edge and twitching at every move she made.

"I see Morrigan has brought some of her friends to our little home in the woods." The woman cackled and Pigen took a small step backwards. "I know what you look for. It's a good thing that my dear daughter has such a soft heart. You would have been searching for days without a single sign of your precious treaties."

Pigen glanced back to the others with a questioning look. 'How does she know about the treaties? Although, she looks old enough to have been there when they were first signed.'

"Why do you have them? Those are Grey Warden property." Alistar said in his not so intimidating commanding voice.

If possible, the woman's smile grew even wider as she laughed. "Don't worry your little head about things like that. Your seal wore away years ago; I was keeping them safe from the dangers of the forests." "What?" Alistar began to question her more, but was corrected by a short jab from Davoth's elbow. "I suppose we should thank you?"

"That was the correct response to charity the last time I checked. Who knows, maybe it's changed since then."

The men kept their eyes to the ground as she moved closer and observed them one at a time. She made noises of agreement or disappointment every few seconds and seemed to be deep in thought. Pigen flinched as the eyes landed on her.

"An elf are you? Those markings are from the Dalish, which you are clearly not and those robes are from the local tribes of men. You're quite the interesting one." She nodded, making her mind up about something unknown. "You surely have more of a grasp on the happenings of the world than your human friends."

Pigen ignored the snort of amusement from one of the recruits and instead focused on making eye contact with the witch in front of her. If she didn't look away, she might have a moment to react before she was blown to pieces or turned into a worm. "I don't really know about that." She said.

The woman's eyes narrowed for a moment, and Pigen began to pray fiercely to the Maker that her end would be quick.

"I think I like your friends, Morrigan. Maybe some day you will have the wits about you to answer as honestly as that."

She was sure that she had heard wrong, but as soon as the leather wrapped papers were being shoved into her arms, Pigen knew that she had dodged yet another dangerous situation.

"T-Thank you! You are wonderful!" She cried as she gazed down at their prize with reverence and awe. She had been so sure that she was going to be turned back around to the tower because she hadn't been able to find a few dusty pages.

Morrigan's mother smiled slyly before turning back to her sulking daughter. "Your guests have what they came for. If you want them back at their camp before dark sets in, you should start now. It's quite the hike."

The younger witch sighed deeply, but turned obediently towards the wardens. "Yes, I suppose you should be on your way. I will not be stopping any more this time. If you fall behind, you may find your own way back." She said as she stared pointedly at Pigen.

The men began their muttering under their breath, thanking the Maker that they were getting away in one piece and cursing the wild mages that had helped them. Pigen walked with a new bounce in her step in the wake of their victory and faith in herself restored. She had survived the wilds, the darkspawn and the insane all in one day. Things were going well for once.

* * *

_I don't even know. I was listening to mariachi music and then this chapter just kind of happened. I am so sorry for any spelling or grammatical mistakes and will fix any that I see or are pointed out to me. Bless your soul for reading._


	4. Chapter Four

_Go, ye heroes, go to glory,_  
_Though you die in combat gory,_  
_Ye shall live in song and story._  
_Go to immortality_

Duncan studied the elf from a distance, careful that she would not notice his gaze. She was chatting with one of the army men that he recognized as the mabari keeper. Her excitement was evident on her face and she was gesturing very animatedly towards the pen. He was glad that she was able to be happy for just a little bit longer before the ceremony.

Although it was nearly impossible to tell who would survive the Joining, if he had to choose one it wouldn't be her.

That wasn't to say that she didn't have her uses. From what he had seen, her skills with magic left much to be desired, but they were at least there. And, more than that, the morale boost that came with her being around the others was useful in of itself. She had quickly become a sort of mascot of the Wardens with all her running around the camp and constant chatter.

"Duncan?"

He turned to the youngest of the Wardens and nodded.

"The mages are finished with their preparations. They say that we can start whenever you're ready."

He paused a moment to look at the girl laughing along with a few of the soldiers. She made a face, clearly mocking someone that they all held the same amount of respect for, pulling another round of laughter from the group.

"Go and tell the others to gather at the ruin. We will start in an hour."

* * *

The moon was high in the sky by the time Pigen found where she was supposed to be. She rubbed at her arms in a vain attempt to warm them, but that bear skin drape wasn't doing nearly as well as it should have in keeping out the chill.

"There you are. The preparations have been finished and it is time to begin the joining. While you may not survive this, know that what you are doing is instrumental in defending Ferelden from the Darkspawn and we thank you for that."

Pigen scowled up at Duncan. It was bad enough that she was being forced to stay awake that long into the night, but all the talk of sacrifice and heroism was starting to make her head spin. _Well, yeah. I guess you can look at this in a little better light since you're not the one about to die some horrible unknown death._

She glanced over at the two men standing next to her. Daveth looked calm, like he was resigned to his fate. Jory looked like he could pass out any second. Pigen understood exactly how he was feeling.

Duncan's voice droned on while Pigen took deep breaths to calm herself down. _It's fine. You're going to be fine. It's just one last little test. I bet it's not even that dangerous. Maybe two people die from it every year. Yes, those are excellent odds._

Any uplifting to her mood that she may have accomplished was quickly dashed upon the rocks at the sight of the goblet lifted from the table and held towards the three.

"You expect us to drink that?" Jory spat and took a step away from Duncan.

_I think I missed something._

Alistair spoke up, "The blood of the darkspawn holds their taint. When we drink it, we gain some of it as well. It's what allows us to sense the darkspawn and how they can sense us."

While the other two began their exclamations of disgust, Pigen remained silent. Her mind turned quickly. Then, her hand shot into the air like she was a young apprentice in their lessons all over again. "I really don't want to be rude, but is this blood magic?"

The heads of the recruits whipped around so fast that she was surprised that they stayed attached to their necks. While Daveth and Jory were staring at her with pure terror, Duncan seemed more mildly displeased than anything.

"The Wardens hold the belief that all help, magic or not, is to be welcomed in the fight against the blight. The joining has magic and involves blood, if that answers your question."

_So, that's a yes, right?_

Silence weighed heavily on the group while they took in this new information. The average man saw magic as something evil just waiting to drag them kicking and screaming into the Fade. Blood magic was just that, only a hundred times worse.

"If it will stop the blight, then it's a chance that I have to take." Daveth said as he stepped forward. She noted that his voice didn't even waiver and he looked almost brave as he stared down the goblet offered to him.

Duncan simply bowed his head slightly as the cup was passed to the recruit. Pigen locked eyes with Daveth for a split second as he raised it to his lips and took a sip.

For a moment, it looked as though nothing was going to happen. The cup was taken back and Daveth had a chance to look around in confusion. Then it struck. It was fast enough that Pigen didn't see all of the effects, but just long enough that she would remember the ones that she did. His body shuddered and locked as he fell to the ground. The bright white of his upturned eyes was seared into Pigen's memory.

Then, it was over and Daveth lay silently on the floor.

Duncan kneeled over the body and whispered a few words that Pigen was too shocked to hear before he stood and took the cup yet again. He silently motioned for the next one to come and drink.

She could hear her heart beating wildly as her eyes jumped from the cup held towards her, the body on the floor, and the closest exit._ He's kind of old, maybe he won't be able to catch me if I run really fast. But, he's a warrior and I'm pretty sure they have to be in good shape. But if I get the jump on him, then he'll be too surprised to chase after for a good five seconds. I could make it!_

While Pigen planned her escape route, it seemed that Jory had the same idea. His babbling was passionate and jumbled as he protested. He was backed into a wall and begging to spare him for the sake of his wife and unborn child.

Pigen screeched shrilly as Duncan's blade pierced through the knight's stomach. While somewhere in her mind she had known that he was a warrior first and foremost, something just hadn't clicked right until that moment. Words were whispered yet again, but this time it was her own whimpering that blocked it from her ears.

She trembled as Duncan turned to her, the blood still wet on his sword. The regret in his eyes didn't help calm her in the slightest.

Without realizing it, Pigen found herself grasping the silver chalice and bringing to her lips. She tasted copper and something much darker and felt it run down her throat before a horrible roar rang out and flashes of dark figures and caverns filled her mind.

And then she was on the ground, staring up at the stars and feeling like she had just been run over by an entire herd of Mabari.

* * *

Pigen turned the little red vial over and over in her hand as she waited. Sitting against the stone pillar was cold and uncomfortable, but she was far too busy brooding to really care.

It had been a while since Duncan left her to go speak to the king. From what she had been able to absorb, the battle was to take place much sooner than everyone had thought and the entire camp was reeling to ready themselves.

The Warden standing off the side was silent again, although he had tried to comfort her in the beginning. Hearing about how only one the recruits at his joining had died did nothing to ease the shock that she felt. Alistair seemed to give up on their conversation when she refused to answer his questions for the tenth time in a row.

She heard the sound of armored boots on stone to the side, but couldn't find the strength to lift her head.

"Alistair, I have new orders for you and Pigenelle. The plan for the battle tonight relies on the lighting of a signal fire in the tower to tell Loghain's army when to charge and flank the enemy. The king has asked if you would assist in the lighting of the fire."

While her fellow Warden began sputtering out his protests, Pigen thought about the task at hand. It would be easy enough and a whole lot safer than standing around on the battle field. She might have been devastated by the ritual, but she was still far from suicidal.

"Where's the tower and how do we get to it?"

She raised her eyes from the ground for what felt like the first time in days and was met with a proud look from Duncan. "The tower of Ishal is across the bridge that we crossed when we arrived yesterday. The army is getting into position now, and while I don't expect the Darkspawn to strike anytime soon, you should get to the tower as quickly as possible."

Pigen pulled herself from her seat on the ground as Alistair continued his grumbling. She managed to smile slightly as Duncan wished them good luck and Alistair told him the same.

The sound of distant war drums wiped the smile from her face in a second.

* * *

_I think me and Duncan need to have a little chat about the definition of a simple task_.

Pigenelle narrowly dodged yet another ax aimed at her midsection and whirled to face the darkspawn that was set on tearing a hole in her stomach.

The creature was swiftly fixed in place by her ward, but she knew that it wouldn't keep it there for long. Just long enough for her to scamper away and hope that one of the other warriors would take care of it for her.

She shouldn't have been surprised when the soldiers came running towards her yelling that the tower had been taken over by darkspawn. Honestly, that was just how her life seemed to be going at the moment.

If it had been up to her, she would be miles away from the burning tower by then, but apparently fighting up enemy filled towers was just another perk of being a Grey Warden. Alistair had charged into the building before she could even suggest her escape plan.

And that was why she was darting around, throwing spells at everything that moved and chugging down lyrium potions like they were going out of style.

Thankfully for her, they had picked up enough extra help along the way that no one even noticed that she skirted around to the edges every time a fight broke out. The few remaining guards from the tower were so eager to pitch in and she had even managed to release a pack of hounds from their cages. She didn't want to say anything, but the dogs were a lot more help against the Darkspawn than the soldiers.

"Those stairs there should lead to the top floor! You two hurry up there and light the signal. We can stay here and hold off the darkspawn." one of the men shouted as he gestured towards the flight of stairs at the end of the hall.

Pigen glanced at Alistair for a second before she took off running. She would have jumped out of the window if it meant getting away from the battle.

Her thoughts ran as she leaped up the stairs two at a time. The end was almost in sight; all they had to do was light one little torch and then stay put until the battle was over and the celebrations could begin. Wine all around, maybe a little music, and definitely plenty of food.

She slid to a halt at the sight of the creature before her.

If the hurlocks had been bad, this was horrific. At least twice her size, had horns that looked sharp enough to cut through steel and small, beady eyes that were trained right on her. Pigen felt her heart stop and drop directly into her stomach.

Somewhere, in the back of her mind, the rational part of her mind told her that it must be one of the ogres that Duncan had mentioned. Not that any of that information was going to be helpful or anything. Just good to know.

Instinct took over as she mounted the attack. The sparks that were flung from her hands struck most of the time, but they weren't doing nearly as much damage as she had hoped. In fact, the more she thought about it, maybe catching the beast's attention hadn't been the best idea at all.

Her spells faltered as it lowered itself down into a crouching stance and stared at her directly. Even the slashes of Alistair's sword into its hide were brushed off like pricks with a needle. Time slowed around her as the darkspawn launched itself in her direction. _Damn._

She didn't have much time to prepare herself before she was thrown into the air by the charging monster. By some miracle that she would thank the Maker profusely for later on, she managed to avoid the terrible horns and most of the damage done was from the impact into the stone wall.

Stars danced around her vision as she pried open her eyes. Shaking her head to get rid of the ringing sound, she pulled herself to her feet.

The ogre was locked in combat with her companion at the moment, although the way things were going she could see that wasn't going to last long. The stabbing pain in her side was the least of her worries as she hobbled forward back towards the fight.

A well placed lightning bolt drew its attention back to her one more time, but she was ready this time. Or, at least, she hoped she was.

It charged for her again, this time with more speed and force and closed in on her within seconds. Pigen held her shaking arms out in front of her as if hoping to shield herself from the attack and braced herself for the moment that her plan failed her. It was close enough that she could see the whites of its eyes by the time she threw up her spell.

One moment, the ogre was bounding towards the tiny elf with every intention of ripping her limb from limb and the next it was being ricocheted back with all the force it had been running with.

Pigen peeked out through her clenched eyes and prayed that she wouldn't find herself staring straight at the darkspawn. Through the shimmering barrier of her force field, she could see the beast laying among the pile of rubble that had once been a wall. She couldn't help but bounce a few times at the idea that she had brought down such an impressive enemy.

"Hurry up and light the signal! It isn't too late for Loghain to join in the fight." Alistair called over to her.

_Oh, right. The war. That thing._

One of the torches from the wall was stuffed into the pile of wood waiting for her and in a few moments, a billowing fire was building in the hearth.

Pigen let out a sigh as the warmth from the fire seeped into her. She was soaked from the rain and she was sure that she was completely empty of energy, magic or otherwise.

She turned her head towards the stairs at the sound of footsteps._ That must be those soldiers that stayed behind. Thank the Maker, maybe it's too late for us to join the battle after all._

She didn't even have enough time to realize how wrong she was when the first arrow struck her in the shoulder, knocking her to the floor and forcing her unconscious. The thought that she had at least managed to do something right before she died was the last one to cross her mind before her world faded to black.

* * *

Pigenelle found herself laying on an incredibly soft bed with a feather pillow propped under her head. That was the first clue that something wasn't quite right.

The dull ache in her head grew as she forced her eyes open and looked around the dimly lit room she found herself in. The smell of dried herbs and sizzling meats made her empty stomach clench painfully. She couldn't remember a time that she had been more hungry in all her life.

"I see you've finally decided to join us. Good, your fellow warden has nearly convinced himself that we have been poisoning you this whole time in some fantastic plot to steal your souls."

She turned too quickly towards the voice and winced at the pain that shot through her shoulder. The witch of the wilds that stood at her bedside smirked slightly. "I was going to warn you that your wounds are not healed completely, but it seems that you have found that yourself."

Pulling herself up without moving her injured side was a complicated task, but she managed. "Where am I? Where are the rest of the Wardens?"

Morrigan's smirk fell slightly, "Perhaps you remember less than Mother hoped. She rescued you from the tower after the battle turned. Your army was slaughtered while it seems that the reinforcements turned and left."

Her heart dropped. "Did no one survive? Ducan? The king?"

"Mother would know better than I, but from what she has told me, no."

Silence fell over the two. Pigen fought to hold herself together while Morrigan simply looked at the elf with questioning eyes. After it dragged on too long for her taste, Morrigan said, "Come, your fellow Warden is outside as we speak. You should go see that he hasn't drowned himself yet. I'll stay here and make some supper for the two of you."

Not even the promise of food was enough to pep Pigen up as she struggled out of the bed and pulled on her robe that had been left hanging on the bed post. She noticed that the rips had been patched and she noted that she had to thank them for that as well.

The sunlight stung her eyes as she hobbled out of the hut and into the open. The familiar scene of the Kocari wilds met her and she was instantly put into an even worse mood. She had hoped that she was done with those woods.

"Oh, thank the Maker. You're alive!"

Pigen smiled up at Alistair as he clasped her upper arms and looked her up and down. She could see the dark bags under his dulled eyes and knew that it had been too long since he had slept.

"You were out for three days. I was starting to think that you had ended up part of some ritual spell in there." The joke was weak, but it was still an effort.

"I told you there was nothing to worry about, boy. Mages aren't any good for those anyway. They just absorb the dark magic." Came to withered voice of Flemeth. She sent a crooked smile their way, but it did nothing to convince them that she had been joking.

"Morrigan said that you were to one that rescued us from the tower?"

The old woman quirked one of her eyebrows at the elf. "Yes, that was my doing. You're not going to go on about how I should have left you there to die like the other one, are you? Because that can still easily be fixed."

Pigen shot Alistair a look that he avoided. "Er, no. I think I'm alright."

Flemeth snorted. "Good, then at least the world has a slimmer of hope before the blight swallows it up. You are going to try to stop it."

It hadn't been a question, but Pigen thought hard about her answer. On the one hand, she didn't want to die. Like, really really didn't want to die. On the other, she knew that she would die any way if the Blight wasn't stopped.

"Yes, the Grey Wardens are kind of bound to stop it I think. I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but that's the main idea."

"I'm so glad you're so invested in our cause." Alistair shot dryly. "It was our duty to stop the archdemon, but the Orlesian army is not going to reach here in time, and two wardens in the entire country isn't going to do much good . We had an entire army at Ostagar and they were slaughtered. What chance do we have?"

For the first time is a long while, Pigen found herself agreeing with her fellow Warden.

"Maybe I read them wrong all that time, but do those treaties not bind the elves, dwarves and mages to fight with you in the case of a blight? And there is no doubting that this is in fact a blight after the battle."

The two were silent for a moment. Pigen cursed the treaties in her mind for destroying the last chance she had of getting away from the whole world saving thing.

"Of course. If we can get the help of those groups, we could for an army greater than even the king's. Arl Eamon of Redcliff would give us his help as well if we ask him, and that's just to the north east of here."

'At least someone is in a good mood again.' she thought as she pouted at the man. 'Why didn't he just leave without me? I could be well on my way to Denerim by now and instead I think I just got roped into the longest road trip in the history of Ferelden.'

The sound of the hut door closing shook her from her inner complaining and she turned to face Morrigan.

"The stew is ready, mother. Will our guests be staying for supper or not?"

Pigen didn't like the look in the older witch's eye as she surveyed her daughter. "They are about to leave, and you are going with them."

Tension so thick that it could have been cut with a knife settled over the group in seconds. Pigenelle could practically feel the heat of anger radiating off of the woman.

"I'm what?" she spat.

While the Wardens took a few steps away from Morrigan just to be safe, her mother didn't seem affected at all. "You heard me, girl. They need all the help that they can get and I'm offering you. Unless you would rather be here when the blight consumes this forest?"

Morrigan took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "No. No mother, I will go with the Wardens if that is what you wish." The two flinched slightly as her golden eyes fell on them. "Let me get my things and we can be on our way. There is a village to the north where we can restock."

Her anger was still evident as she stormed back into the hut and slammed the door behind her. Flemeth chuckled at her daughter's action. "Give her a few days and she'll calm down. She's quite useful when she wants to be."

While Alistair muttered under his breath about how big of a mistake this was, Pigen simply looked around in wonder. Surely this was all some kind of humongous joke. Duncan was going to pop out from behind that tree there and tell her that no one was dead, she hadn't actually drunken the blood of the most disgusting creature on Thedas, and she was going back to the tower that very week where Gregoir had been replaced by a friendlier grizzly bear.

Morrigan appeared soon enough, carrying a large pack on her back and with a loaf of bread under her arm. "Since mother has seen it fit that we leave before supper, I thought it best to take something myself." She said with amusement as she noticed the look of awe from Pigen.

Cradling the still warm hunk of bread in her hands, Pigen thought that Morrigan was already proving herself to be more useful than the two Wardens put together. She probably should have been more worried about that than she was.


End file.
